Our Work

APWLD is Asia Pacific’s leading feminist, membership driven network. We hold consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Our 180 members represent groups of diverse women from 25 countries in the region. For 25 years, APWLD has been empowering women to use law as an instrument of change for equality, justice, peace and development. We use research, training, advocacy and activism to claim and strengthen women’s human rights. Our diverse membership provides the strength and expertise that both drives and executes our four programme areas which include Women and Power, Feminist Law and Practice, Breaking out of Marginalisation and Grounding the Global.

WOMEN IN POWER
The Women and Power programme aims to strengthen women’s political participation and challenge gendered political structures. Through this programme we conduct training on gender and politics; facilitate networking and collaboration of women parliamentarians and other women in government; and conduct research & publication

GROUNDING THE GLOBAL
Grounding the Global aims to enhance capacity of women in Asia Pacific to advocate for women’s human rights and fundamental freedoms by engaging in regional and international mechanisms. This programme builds on APWLD’s existing legacy conducting annual regional consultations with UN Mandate Holders and through this programme we co-facilitate the South East Asia Women’s Caucus on ASEAN.

FEMINIST LAW AND PRACTICE
This longstanding programme provides training to women lawyers, policy makers and activists who want to advance equality for women. Participants analyse and critique discriminatory laws from feminist and rights based perspectives and build campaigns to advance women’s rights.

BREAKING OUT OF MARGINALISATION
This programme supports rural, indigenous and migrant women to challenge discriminatory practices and laws. We train and support women to document human rights violations and use national, regional and international fora and reporting mechanisms to instigate change. As a core member of the United for Foreign Domestic Worker Rights (UFDWR) we campaign for the rights of domestic workers.

CLIMATE JUSTICE
Our Climate Justice programme aims to support women most affected by climate change to shape climate policy locally, nationally and regionally in ways that are sustainable, equitable and beneficial to women. With our partner organisations, we conduct Feminist Participatory Action Research to ensure local women are the authors of substantive evidence ensuring the voice and demands of Asia-Pacific women are audible and influential.

FEMINIST DEVELOPMENT JUSTICE
This programme aims to bring about a shift in development policies and practices at the local, national, regional and international levels. It challenges the traditional model of development and promotes models that are focused on reducing inequalities between states, between rich and poor and between men and women. It aims to promote the voice of women’s movements in development policy and implementation, to be counted as primary stakeholders and to monitor obligations of states to uphold women’s rights to development at all levels.

WOMEN INTERROGATING TRADE & CORPORATE HEGEMONY (WITCH)
This is a newest programme of APWLD which focuses on advancing the capacity of feminist movements to promote rights-based, equitable, feminist models of trade and investment agreements internationally, regionally and nationally. The programme will work with APWLD members and other social movements to build capacity, resources and demand spaces to advance agreements that are fair, transformative and address multiple inequalities.